Access rules wouldn't hurt adoptive families
I am an adult adoptee and an adoption professional, so I understand the concerns many people have about accessing records. One of the foremost, stated as "the collapse of the adoptive family," has not proved to be true.
Experience has shown that the accessing of adoption records is not about finding new parents, but about ending decades of secrecy and allowing adoptees the same rights as everyone else — to know their heritage and see their original birth certificates.
Most of us who successfully searched were looking for information, not new parents. The majority of us were blessed with very positive parents and we have no desire to replace them. We searched to learn more about our histories, our genetic heritage and ourselves.
Sadly, my real mom (adoptive mom) died when I was just 21, before I began my search for my birth family. I have known my birth mother now for 27 years. While we have a very supportive relationship, even after all these years, she is still Judy and my mom will always be my mom.
Openness and honesty in adoption not only provide us with information about ourselves, but also strengthen the ties with our real parents.
Francie Portnoy
Greensboro
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